CENTRAL CITY, Colo. -- Rescue crews spent more than five hours on snowcats and snowshoes to climb a steep, rugged mountainside Friday to recover the body of a 47-year-old pilot who died when his single-engine plane crashed west of Black Hawk.

The pilot was identified as Barry Maggert, of Carbondale. Twenty-three year old Jonathan Holton was injured in the crash. Holton, who is a close family friend of the Maggerts, was treated and released from St. Anthony Central Hospital Friday with a broken ankle and injured shoulder.

Maggert’s younger brother, three-time PGA Tour winner Jeff Maggert, withdrew from The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Thursday, telling tournament officials that his older brother had been killed in a small plane crash en route to his son's college graduation.

He left the tournament to fly to Colorado.

The 1965 Cessna 1982 that crashed was co-owned by Barry Maggert and Carroll Winkler. Caroll told the Aspen Daily News that Maggert was flying to Boulder for the Friday graduation of his son, Lee Barry Maggert, from the University of Colorado.

Barry Maggert has 23-year-old twin sons, Lee and Bryant. Lee Maggert is a fifth-year architectural design student who graduated Friday morning.

Holton was flown to St. Anthony's Central Hospital after being picked off the mountainside by a Blackhawk helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base. Because of the rocky terrain, the helicopter had to hover over the downed plane as rescuers were lowered to pluck the Holton from the site.

“He’s pretty lucky,” Jennifer Deweese said of her son by phone Friday.

Deweese told 7NEWS Jonathan will need orthopedic surgery on his ankle. “But we’ll put him back together.”

Deweese expressed great sadness over the loss of Maggert, who was a close friend. She also talked about her son’s bravery during efforts to summon rescuers while trying to help Maggert.

“He did all the right things,” Deweese said.

Barry Maggert, a structural engineer with his own firm in Carbondale, ran unsuccessfully three times for the Carbondale Board of Trustees and was the former chairman of the Garfield County Libertarian Party, Carbondale Mayor Michael Hassig said.

"More than his political views, what I remember most is just what a dedicated family man he was, how proud he was of his family and how much he loved them," Hassig said. "He was a clear thinker, relished debate and argument and was always respectful in that regard."

The Carbondale Valley Journal offered Maggert an unpaid position as a columnist, said editor and general manager John Stroud.

"He's not in the mainstream as far as the Carbondale political viewpoint," Stroud said, adding Maggert wrote a column for about 10 years but was considering dropping it after losing a recent run for the county Board of Trustees.

Bette Rose Ryan, who met Maggert in 1997 through Libertarian party activities, remarked on his great love for his wife and family.

“Renee and (Barry) were sweethearts in high school and married. That always fascinated me how they could be so in love after all these years,” Ryan told 7NEWS.

Maggert’s wife released a statement Friday. “The Maggert Family would like to thank everyone for their love, support, prayers and condolences,” Renee Maggert said .

A celebration of Barry’s life is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 15. Time and location are to be announced, according to the prepared statement.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the pilot reported engine trouble and said he was losing altitude shortly before dropping off radar at about 3:45 p.m., Thursday.

About 15 minutes later authorities in Black Hawk received a 911 call from one of the victims on the plane, who said his plane had crashed on a mountain but he did not know where. Police triangulated the man's cell phone signal and learned that it was going through a cell tower in Central City.

Federal Investigators plan to brief members of the media Saturday.

Air Tracker 7 was the first aircraft over the area and located the Cessna on a mountainside just above 10,400 feet. Pilot Danny Brown gave rescuers GPS coordinates of the crash site but high winds and rough terrain prevented him from landing to provide help.

The Cessna departed from Glenwood Springs and was headed to Boulder County airport when it crashed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

Two front end loaders from Central City and Gilpin county spent eight hours Friday bursting through snow drifts up to 12 feet high along a difficult, bumpy one-lane road.

Six people from the Gilpin and Clear Creek County sheriff's departments headed into the jagged area one mile south of Montana Mountain at 1:20 p.m. Friday.

By 3 p.m. they had reached the crash site, then spent another 30 minutes using show shoes to traverse a steep hillside some recovery crew members estimated was 40 degrees. Maggert's body was brought down by 6 p.m.

Because of the area remains difficult to access Gilpin county said its crews will not be removing the wreckage of the plane at this time.

The crash site is about 4 miles west of Central City, a gambling town about 40 miles west of Denver.

In lieu of flowers, Maggert’s wife asked for a memorial donation be made to one of the following organizations that aided in the rescue and recovery: Federal Aviation Administration, Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office, Gilpin Victim Services, Central City Police Department, Black Hawk Police Department, Gilpin Search and Rescue, Alpine Search and Rescue, Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue, Central City Fire Department, Black Hawk Fire Department, Civil Air Patrol, Colorado National Guard, Airlife, and Gilpin Ambulance.